Special effects the star of King Kong

February 06, 2006|PHILIP SALVADOR Clay High School

At the end of the year, theaters are flooded with holiday movies. Some are simply attempts to cash in on a star's fame, while others are truly outstanding movies on their own. "King Kong," Peter Jackson's newest film, is the latter. A remake of the 1933 movie of the same name, "King Kong" follows the exploits of Carl Denham as he attempts to create a film on an uncharted island inhabited by fantastic creatures. While most people are familiar with the plot, there is much more explanation, build-up and detail. With added backstory, dialogue and action scenes, the movie clocks in at exactly three hours long. The movie is entertaining enough to make this time pass quickly, and it feels much shorter. All of the actors do a fantastic job in making their characters unique. Thanks to a great screenplay, each character has a unique style. Everyone is easily identifiable by their dialogue, even the minor characters with very few lines. The most surprising actor was Jack Black, who delivered an uncharacteristically dramatic performance, instead of the expected low-level comedy. Naomi Watts also pulls off a very hard feat -- bringing emotion to the subject of being in love with a gorilla. Even though the film's actors are spectacular, the real star of "King Kong" is the special effects. Kong, the great ape himself, looks amazingly lifelike and delivers an emotional performance despite not being able to talk. Some of the effects look a bit fake or odd, but for the most part, everything is so incredibly realistic it's often hard to tell what is computer generated imagery and what is not. The movie is not without flaws, though. There are some odd plot inconsistencies and other minor errors, but the film is so overwhelming and over-the-top that it is very hard to notice any of these unless the film is viewed more than once. On a second viewing, the reviewer noticed many more mistakes than he did the first time; the shock and awe wears off after the first viewing. The action is intense, the acting is superb and the effects are lifelike. What more could one ask for in a holiday movie? "King Kong" is not a perfect movie, but it is a far superior one to nearly all the other currently showing movies. No matter who you are, "King Kong" is worth viewing, at least just once.